Rotary kiln.



[10.644,057. Patented Feb. 27, |900. C. L. CARMAN.

ROTARY KILN.

(Application led Feb. 20, 1899.) (un Model.) 2 sheets-sheer l.

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'10.644,057. Patented Fab. 27, |900.

c. L. cAmaAN.

ROTARY KILN.

(Application Bled Feb. 20, 1899.) No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

CHARLES L. CARMAN, OF CHICAGO,

PATENT omet.

ILLINOIS, AssreNon To THE GATES IRON WORKS, on SAME PLACE.

ROTARY KILN.

srnoirrcA'rIoN aiming part of Lettere Patent ne. 644,057,01atee1 February 27, redo.

v Apputetiou fiiedretmay 20,1899. SeritlNo- 706,182- (Nomodel To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. CARMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Kilns, of which the following is 'a speciiication.

My invention relates to that class of kilns which is formed of a tube or tubes adapted to be rotated and to which heat is applied during their rotation for the purpose of roasting or calcining Portland cement or similar materials.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a rotary kiln having a discharge opening or openings with means for opening and closing such openings during the rotary movements of the kiln and'preventing the admission of cold air in large quantities.

Further objects of the inventionwill appear from an examination of the drawings and the following description and-claims.

The invention consists principally in the combination of a rotatable tube or similar element provided with a discharge opening or openings and means for Vopening and closing each of such openings during the rotation of the kiln -for the purpose of discharging the calcined material and preventing the introduction of cold air.

The invention consists, furtherand finally, in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a broken vertical elevation, shownpartly in section, of one form of a rotary kiln lconstructed in accordance with myimprovements Fig. 2, an end View of the mechanism looking at it from the left hand of Fig. l, showing a portion of the discharging mechanism in sectional elevatioh; Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional detail of the discharging mechanism shown in one position, and Fig. 4t a similar view showing the discharging mechanism in another position. p

- In the art to which this invention relates it is well known that this class of kilns Lis the most economical and materially reduces the cost of manufacture of Portland cement, owing to the fact that no manual labor is required to handle the material. It is also a well-known fact that the consumption of fuel in this class of kilns per ton of calcined material is greater than in the class of stationary vertical kilns, the cause of which is due to the fact that in rotary kilns ofthe prior art the amount of air necessary to sustain combustion cannot be vregulated very closely, and this because the lower end of the kiln, as usually made, revolves in a casing which permits the air to rush in in great quantities and reduce the temperature of the roasting-chamber. The principal object of my invention, therefore, is to make a rotary kiln which will repiove the above objection by providingit with means by which the roasted or calcined material can be discharged without permitting the introduction of any appreciable quantity of air or the loss of heated gases, all of which Will more fully hereinafter'appear.

In constructing a rotary kiln in accordance with my improvements I use a rotatabletubular part A, which may be made in one continuous tube or in separable sections, as may seem most desirable to suit dierent circumstances and conditions. This rotatable tubular part is preferably mounted upon rollerbearings B and Band is adapted to be rotated by means of the spur-gear C, drivingpinion c, Worm-gear C', and driving-Worm c'. (Shown particularly in Fig. l.) As is usual in such class of ykilns the rotatable portion is provided with a lining A3 of refractory material adapted to protect the outer tubular casing and at the same time act as a reservoir t'o retain a sufficient quantity of heat to enable the process of calcining to be carried on economically. This rotatable portion is also preferably arranged at an incline, so that as the material is fed in at an inlet-opening A' it may during the rotations of the tube gradually descend toward the discharge-openings, hereinafter described.

In order to provide for the discharge of the calcined material and prevent the introduction of any appreciable quantity of cold air,

the rotatable tube or kiln is provided with a series of discharge-openings a, a, a2, and a3. Each of these openings is provided with a primary discharging-pocket D, adapted to be closed or opened by means of. a swinging gate IOO d, which is provided with an arm d', having a trolley-wheel d2 affixed thereto at its free end. Arranged in line to this primary pocket and forming, preferably, an integral portion thereof is a second pocket D', which is also provided with a swinging gate or door d3, adapted to open and close the lower end thereof, as shown in Fig. 4. The arrangement and construction of the parts are such that during the rotary movements of the tube or kiln these gates are, owing to the action of gravity, closed as theyare rotated in their uppermost position, so as to prevent the introduction of quantities of cold air into the roasting-chamber of the kiln. In order, however, to open these gates and permit the discharge of a quantity of the roasted or calcined material at the proper time and preferably while the parts are being rotated in their lowest position, a circular guide or track is provided, which is made in two separate sections or so arranged as to form a discharge-opening B2 between them. lVhen the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, these gates, by means of their trolleys,which with the construction of the gates form such parts into what may be properly termed Weighted swinging7 gates, are kept closed in their upper position and in their lower position while in contact with the tracks or guides. As one of the dischargingopenings, with its gate mechanism, approaches the discharge-space E2 and comes opposite thereto the door or gate d of the primary pocket is first allowed to drop into the position shown in Fig. 3, so that any material which maybe in its pocketD will drop into the second pocket D', the door of which is still closed. During the continued movements of the rotatable tube or kiln the trolley on the door or gate d contacts the second section of the circular guide or track,which acts to close the door, as shown in Fig. 3,wh ile the further rotation of the kiln permits the trolley d4 to drop into the discharging-space, so that its door is permitted to swing on its hinge and open and permit the discharge of the material in the second pocket. As the kiln further rotates this trolley cZ4 contacts the second section of the track and is closed, so that the second pocket is in condition to receive any material which may be discharged therein at the proper time. By this description of construction and operation it will be seen that the material first lodges in the primary pocket D, from which it is discharged into the second pocket, as shown in Fig. 3, without permitting the introduction of any air and that such primary pocket can be closed before the second or supplementary pocket is emptied, thus preventing any air from entering the roasting-chamber or the loss of a material quantity of heat during the discharge of the second pocket.

In Fig. 1 I have shown an exhaust ilue or stack G, arranged to carry olf the products of combustion, the., and a hopper I*I,With feed- Screw II and supply-tube H2, forthe purpose of introducing material into the roasting'- chamber.

While I have described my invention with more or'less minuteness as regards details of construction and arrangement and as being embodied in certain precise forms, I do not desire to be limited thereto unduly or any more than is pointed out in the claims. On the contrary, I contemplate all proper changes in form, construction, and arrangement, the omission of immaterial elements, and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or necessity render expedient.

I claiml. Inarotarykiln, the combination of a rotatable tubular portion provided with one or more discharge-openings in the periphery thereof, a swinging gate for each dischargeopening arranged to open and close the same, a circular guide or track made in sections and separated so as to automatically open and close the gate at its discharge-opening during the rotary movements of the kiln, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary kiln, the combination of a rotatable tubular portion provided with a discharge opening or openings in its lateral surface, a pocket arranged in line with and for each discharge-opening, and means for automatically opening and closing such pocket or pockets during the rotations of the tubular portion, substantially as described.

3. In a rotary kiln, the combination of a rotatable tubular portion provided with a discharge opening or openings in its lateral surface and at or near one end, a primary discharge-pocket and a second discharge-pocket in line with and for each discharge-opening, la gate or door for each pocket, and means for automatically opening and closing the gate or door to the primary and secondary pockets during the rotation of the kiln, substantially as described.

4. In a rotary kiln, the combination of a rotatable tubular portion provided with a discharge opening or openings at or near one end, a primary pocket in line with each dischargeopening, a second pocket in line with each primary pocket, a swinging gate arranged to open and close each primary pocket, a swinging gate arranged to open and close each secondary pocket, a circular guide or track made in sections separated so as to automatically open and close the gates of the primary and secondary pockets during the rotary movements of the kiln, substantially as described.

5. In a rotary kiln, the combination of a r0- tatable tubular portion provided with a discharge opening or openings in its lateral surface and at or near one end thereof, a primary discharging -pocket in line with cach discharge-opening, a second discharging-pocket in line with each primary discharging-pocket, a Weighted swinging gate or door provided with a trolley for opening and closing each primary pocket, a Weighted swinging gate 0r door provided with a trolley for opening and IOO IIO

closing each secondary pocket, and a circular during the rotary movements of the kiln, subguide or track made in at least two portions stantially as described. arranged adjacent to and concentric with the n tubular portion and separated to provide a CHARLES L CARMAN' 5 discharging-space between such portions and Witnesses:

adapted to automatically open and close the `THOMAS F. SHERIDAN, gate mechanism of the discharging-pockets THOMAS B. MCGREGOR. 

